


The Cat Burglar

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen, Sentinel Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 14:59:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13906485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: A burglar has been targeting the homes of Cascade's rich





	The Cat Burglar

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2018 sentinel bingo prompt 'deal with the devil'

The Cat Burglar

by Bluewolf

Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw -

For he's the master criminal who can defy the Law.

             Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats: T. S. Elliot

 

Nobody was quite sure who had first called the burglar who had been hitting the homes of Cascade's rich 'Macavity', but the name caught on very quickly, for it was certainly fitting.

Whoever Macavity was, he - or she - was silent. Silent as a cat.

Many - most - burglars broke into houses that were empty, the owners on holiday or out for the night. Macavity cheerfully broke into houses that were occupied, raiding bedrooms while the owners were watching TV, and leaving everything so tidy that sometimes it was several days, even weeks, before they realized they had been robbed. At least once he raided a bedroom while the owners were in bed, asleep. They knew in the morning, however, because he took a watch that had been left on the bedside cabinet.

Forensics had found nothing.

Burglary was stumped.

Some of the items stolen were antiques; none of them had been sold to any shop that dealt in antiques, or to any pawn shop. The known fences all denied knowing anything about any of the stolen items. It was almost as if Macavity was amassing a private, and very eclectic, collection of valuable items.

It was inevitable that the case should be passed on to Major Crime. And for Major Crime - read the team of Ellison and Sandburg.

***

They read the reports - such as they were. In almost every case, the owners of the missing property had no idea at all when they had been robbed. One woman had said, "It could have been up to a year ago. I only wear that particular jewellery when my husband and I go out to celebrate our wedding anniversary; so I only missed it when I was getting ready to go out for this year's celebration."

Several had said, "I vary what jewellery I wear, so I didn't notice something was missing till I wanted it."

And that was Macavity's other... well, peculiarity. Most burglars took everything of value that they could find. Macavity didn't. He - or she - took only a few items - usually only one - from each house.

Blair looked up from the 'report' he was reading. "This guy's made a deal with the devil."

"Certainly reads that way," Jim agreed.

"Seriously, though... I'm beginning to wonder if it's one of the local kids. They'd all be in and out of each other's houses, have a fair idea of what could be valuable in each... maybe even with the parents' connivance. The parents report having been robbed, so to the neighborhood they're victims too, while all the time they have a stash of stuff their kid has stolen. Then come the summer they go off to Australia on holiday, take the stuff with them, sell it there... "

But even educated guesses were only guesses, and they were left baffled.

***

Since Jim had become reconciled with his father, he and Blair had dinner most Saturday nights with William.

They were eating in the silence that good food always deserves when Jim raised his head. Blair took one look at the intent look on Jim's face and murmured, "Hear something?"

"Dad - give us a couple of minutes, then go to the foot of the stairs. Make a noise - call back as if you're going to get something for me to look at. Chief - come on. Quietly."

They slipped out. "Round to the back," Jim breathed.

They had reached the back of the house when Jim heard William calling, "I'll just go and get that book, Jim!"

A moment later, a figure in dark clothes slipped out of one of the upstairs windows and began to slide carefully down a drainpipe. As it reached the ground, Jim said quietly, "That's far enough, Macavity."

The figure paused for the briefest of moments, then tried to make a run for it - only to trip over Blair's outstretched leg. Seconds later, Jim had the thief firmly restrained while Blair called for a black and white.

They took their prisoner back into the house.

William was waiting at the foot of the stairs. He looked at the burglar while Jim stripped off the dark balaclava the man - for it was a man - was wearing. "Barry!"

The young man glared at William.

"You know him?" Jim asked.

"Barry Jensen. He's lived with his grandparents since his parents were killed in an accident when he was twelve. They live just down the road. But they were the second family in the area to be robbed... "

"Who'd be in a better position to rob them than their grandson?" Blair asked.

There was a knock at the door, and Blair opened it. Two patrol officers stood there.

"Hi, guys. Come in."

Jim grinned at them. "This is Barry Jensen. We caught him trying to slip out of the house via an upstairs window. He might or might not have had time to steal anything, so we need to check his pockets. Meanwhile - " He turned to the prisoner. "Barry Jensen, you are under arrest for theft or attempted theft. You have the right to remain silent - " He finished the Miranda, and the patrol officers took the prisoner away.

***

And when the police went to the grandparents' house with a warrant to search it... To the horror of the entire neighborhood, it turned out that Barry's grandparents had indeed known what he was doing, and encouraged it. And Blair had been right; they had planned to sell everything on their next holiday outside America. Not that they needed the money - they were just being greedy. Barry himself had considered it a challenge - getting in, taking something and getting out again undetected.

And but for Jim's heightened sense of hearing, he would probably have escaped undetected for many years.

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
